Biotechnology news

• CarveAdornCurate: a versatile cloud-based platform for constructing multiscale metabolic models

  04-03-2025 01:00 via cell.com
  We report a cloud-based platform called CarveAdornCurate (CAC) for constructing multiscale metabolic models without requiring high-quality metabolic networks as input. Accessible via a web browser, it enables remote access and integrates thermodynamics and enzyme costs for bottleneck analysis. The platform also guides the curation of existing models and is available online at www.carveadorncurate.com.
  
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• Scientists Grow More Hopeful About Ending a Global Organ Shortage

  12-11-2025 11:00 via nytimes.com
  At an international conference, researchers at the forefront of animal-human transplantation compared notes and allowed themselves the first real optimism in decades.
  
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• China busca conquistar el envejecimiento

  11-11-2025 19:59 via nytimes.com
  Los laboratorios de longevidad, las “islas de la inmortalidad” y las pastillas de semillas de uva forman parte del proyecto chino para vencer al envejecimiento.
  
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• La búsqueda de China de conquistar el envejecimiento

  10-11-2025 19:24 via nytimes.com
  Los laboratorios de longevidad, las “islas de la inmortalidad” y pastillas de semillas de uva forman parte del proyecto chino para vencer al envejecimiento.
  
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• Inside China’s Quest to Defy Aging with Longevity Labs and ‘Immortality Islands’

  08-11-2025 06:05 via nytimes.com
  Longevity labs, “immortality islands” and grapeseed pills are part of China’s national project to conquer aging, despite sometimes shaky science and extravagant claims.
  
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• F.D.A. Moves to Speed Approvals for Cheaper Copycat Drugs

  30-10-2025 17:13 via nytimes.com
  The agency announced moves to cut regulatory obstacles for the makers of biosimilar drugs, which are akin to generics and may help lower drug costs.
  
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• Phyllis Gardner, Early Skeptic of Theranos, Dies at 75

  13-10-2025 17:59 via nytimes.com
  A pharmacologist, she was certain Elizabeth Holmes’s blood-testing idea would fail, and spoke up about it. At first, few listened.
  
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• The A.I. Prompt That Could End the World

  11-10-2025 04:06 via nytimes.com
  A destructive A.I., like a nuclear bomb, is now a concrete possibility; the question is whether anyone will be reckless enough to build one.
  
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• Trump’s Pharma Tariffs Spare Richest Drugmakers

  27-09-2025 01:05 via nytimes.com
  The details of the president’s proposed tariffs were not clear. But it seemed that many big companies would qualify for exemptions.
  
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• U.S. Drugmakers Warn White House of Chaos as Trump Weighs Curbs on China

  13-09-2025 04:21 via nytimes.com
  Behind the scenes, major pharmaceutical companies and Trump-tied billionaires are furiously lobbying in opposite directions over proposed anti-China measures.
  
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• The metabolic guide to space survival

  13-09-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival (https://kristinapulejkova.com/the-metabolic-guide-to-space-survival/) is a multidisciplinary exploration of microbial life as a key to long-term survival in space. Framed through the voice of fictional character Chief Bioengineer Mira Kordan, the work unfolds across a speculative design toolkit, a narrative guidebook, and an architectural installation animated by holographic projections of Mira navigating life in zero gravity. The piece was created by Londo
  
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• Making cow-free caseins and casein micelles

  08-09-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  A key step in the precision fermentation of casein proteins is correct phosphorylation to generate one or more short linear sequence motifs (SLiMs) containing three or more phosphorylated seryl residues. The work of Balasubramanian et al. takes us a step closer to that goal by showing that two bacterial phosphokinases are promising alternatives to the mammalian Golgi phosphokinases and casein kinase-II.
  
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• Highly efficient prime editors for mammalian genome editing based on porcine retrovirus reverse transcriptase

  30-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  This study developed a highly efficient prime editing system (pvPE) based on porcine endogenous retroviral reverse transcriptase. Through extensive engineering and nocodazole treatment, pvPE achieved robust multigene editing in porcine fibroblasts, which generated Alzheimer’s disease pig models, offering a versatile platform for agricultural and biomedical applications.
  
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• Targeting RAS-mutant cancer cells using a synthetic RAS-activated cancer killing system

  29-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  The RAS-activated cancer killing (RACK) system rewires cancer cells to self-destruct by leveraging their own oncogenic RAS signals. This synthetic circuit eradicates resistant tumors, including historically ‘undruggable’ mutants, while sparing healthy tissue, offering a smart and adaptable strategy to outpace cancer evolution.
  
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• Membrane-targeted DNA frameworks with biodegradability recover cellular function and morphology from frozen cells

  29-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  DNA frameworks, nanostructures engineered from DNA, preserve cells by anchoring to membranes, inhibiting cellular ice growth, and degrading autonomously after thawing. These biodegradable cryoprotectants outperform conventional agents, improve recovery and function of frozen macrophage cells, and offer a promising strategy for biopreservation in research and therapeutic applications.
  
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• Extended human lymph node explants for evaluation of adaptive immunity

  29-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  This study presents a hydrogel-based platform that preserves patient-derived lymph node slices ex vivo, maintaining viability, architecture, and immune function. The model enables robust responses to tumor dissociates and mRNA vaccines, offering a powerful tool for studying human immunity and accelerating vaccine and immunotherapy development.
  
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• Engineering infrared light detection in blind human retina using ultrasensitive human TRPV1 channels

  29-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  We engineered a human transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) variant the thermal threshold of which matches near-infrared microheating. Delivered by adeno-associated virus (AAV) to blind human retina, the novel single-component channel elicited robust, graded infrared responses without foreign proteins or nanoparticles, offering an opsin-free route to vision restoration and a platform for broader clinical-use thermal neuromodulation.
  
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• Development of a high-efficiency N-acetylneuraminic acid production platform through multi-pathway synergistic engineering

  29-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  This study leverages artificial intelligence (AI)-driven enzyme mining and metabolic reprogramming for precise precursor control, alongside dual-carbon source synergy, establishing a cost-effective N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) biomanufacturing platform. This systematic synthetic biotechnology framework not only elevates NeuAc yields, but also offers generalizable solutions to persistent bottlenecks in microbial-based bioproduction.
  
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• Engineered RNA nanostructures for scalable and efficient RNAi-based pesticides

  25-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  Engineered self-assembled RNA nanostructures (SARNs) overcome challenges in RNAi-based pest control by enhancing stability, delivery, and gene silencing efficiency. A scalable, cost-effective production framework supports the practical deployment of SARN pesticides, with applications extending to sustainable agriculture and RNA-based therapeutics.
  
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• A prescription for plastic waste

  21-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  In a recent study, Johnson et al. demonstrated a potentially generalizable strategy to bioremediate and upcycle plastic waste by interfacing a chemical reaction not typically found in nature with Escherichia coli. They further applied this approach to synthesize paracetamol (acetaminophen), one of the most widely used over-the-counter active pharmaceutical ingredients.
  
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• Improved provenance tracking by documenting plasmids within their own sequence

  19-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  In a recent article, Hernandez et al. introduced a framework for plasmid self-documentation. It uses the data storage capabilities of the DNA of a plasmid to capture either direct documentation or a reference to full documentation. The approach is robust and experimentally verified to both write information to, and read information from, the plasmid of interest.
  
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• America Is Giving Up a Lifesaving Medical Breakthrough: mRNA

  18-08-2025 19:19 via nytimes.com
  Giving up on mRNA is a dangerous decision.
  
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• China’s Biotech Is Cheaper and Faster Than America’s

  17-08-2025 22:50 via nytimes.com
  China’s biotechnology sector has established a bright future by focusing not on breakthrough cures and treatments but on speed and efficiency.
  
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• Microbial production of D-mannose and D-sedoheptulose with tunable ratios

  15-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  Escherichia coli was engineered to co-produce D-mannose and D-sedoheptulose from D-glucose using a phosphorylation–dephosphorylation strategy. The optimized strain enabled efficient production with tunable product ratios. D-mannose is a low-calorie sweetener, while D-sedoheptulose modulates sugar metabolism, enabling new applications in food and health.
  
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• Splice, exchange, extend: precision editing of native proteins in live cells

  02-08-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  Beyer et al. and Hua et al. developed platforms for precise chemical editing of proteins in living mammalian cells. These approaches enabled site-specific tagging at diverse protein sites without disrupting function. Demonstrated on several key proteins, this technology opens new possibilities for studying protein dynamics and functions in live cells.
  
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• William J. Rutter, Biotech Pioneer of Gene-Based Medicine, Dies at 97

  27-07-2025 18:28 via nytimes.com
  His company, the Chiron Corporation, contributed important scientific discoveries toward treatments for H.I.V., hepatitis B, diabetes and more.
  
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• Zelig Eshhar, Who Engineered Immune Cells to Fight Cancer, Dies at 84

  23-07-2025 16:31 via nytimes.com
  He made a conceptual leap in immunotherapy by creating a hybrid T-cell, known as CAR-T, that was genetically modified to destroy cancer cells.
  
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• Microbial cellulose production using ocean water: sustainable and cost-effective?

  18-07-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  In a recent paper, Shankar et al. present a promising proof-of-concept for bacterial cellulose (BC) production, exhibiting competitive material properties, utilizing ocean water (OW) despite the challenges posed by high salinity. By reducing dependence on freshwater resources, the work highlights both ecological and economic benefits related to current BC production methods.
  
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• Towards a cultivated ribeye

  09-07-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  To engineer full-thickness cultivated meat, a perfusable scaffold is required with a high density of capillaries that allow diffusion of oxygen, nutrients, and waste. Nie et al., established a remarkable feat of tissue engineering that provides important direction towards full-thickness cultivated meat.
  
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• A homologous recombination-proficient Yarrowia lipolytica chassis for multiplex genome manipulation

  08-07-2025 02:00 via cell.com
  Yarrowia lipolytica, an industrial yeast historically challenging for precision genome editing, was engineered to favor homologous recombination (HR) repair while retaining its native fitness. This capacity facilitates Y. lipolytica-based basic research and modern biotechnology. The strategies developed in this study provide a reference for the genetic engineering of other nonhomologous end joining(NHEJ)-preferring organisms.
  
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